07/11/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/11/2025 16:18
BELLINGHAM, WA - Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03) today released the following statement:
"Trump said he would go after 'the worst of the worst.' Instead, his immigration machine is abducting Oregonians without cause-including four U.S. citizen children in my district.
"An Oregon family was kidnapped and taken to an undisclosed location in Washington state. After learning of this horror on Tuesday, my team worked for days to determine their whereabouts. I arrived in Bellingham on Thursday, where we ultimately located the family-after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) initially misled us.
"It is wholly unprecedented for CBP to detain any individual for weeks without cause-let alone four U.S. citizens. Members of Congress have oversight authority over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities, not CBP facilities-because it is unprecedented for CBP to detain individuals long-term.
"This is what authoritarianism looks like. Citizen children abducted. Community members disappeared. If we allow this to become normal, we surrender who we are. We cannot look away. We cannot back down," said Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D.
"My team is supporting Representative Dexter as she assists her constituents detained in Ferndale," said Congressman Rick Larsen. "I am working with Rep. Dexter and local Department of Homeland Security personnel to get more facts about the circumstances of the detention. I respect federal law enforcement and they must respect the constitutional rights of the people they detain."